WildernessReviews of wildernessdestinations.com

Arrived in Kigali this evening on a Wilderness package, 1 night Serena Hotel Kigali, 2 nights Sabinyo. Wilderness guide was 30 mins late to airport, had to get taxi to hotel. Arrived at hotel and the reservation had been cancelled because Wilderness had not confirmed. Wilderness offered replacement accommodation at The Retreat which looked very nice. arrived at Retreat, checked in and found ourselves walked 100m down the road to “Heaven”, which it definitely is not. A very disappointing, dishonest and cynical approach by Wilderness.

We were in the middle of a vacation in Southeast Asia in March when the borders closed and our travel was canceled. We were assured by Jacada Travel that we had credit and would be able to rebook the remaining two weeks of our vacation later in 2020 or 2021 with little or no additional cost to us. In August, having heard nothing from Jacada since March, we wrote asking for an accounting. They told us that they had “forgotten” to include us in the group of clients who were owed money and received notice of the receivership in May and the sale of Jacada’s assets to Wilderness Safaris. They said that our $12,000 in remaining travel credit had been used to pay other creditors and that we had no travel credit with vendors in Vietnam because, rather unbelievably, they had not actually paid for any of the hotels, cruises or flights scheduled for the last two weeks of our trip. KPMG had no explanation for why we weren’t given any notice of the receivership but said that we are unlikely to receive any money back and that Wilderness Travel would not cover our lost monies. No one can explain how our money was used or how Jacada had could have not paid for the flights or the Heritage cruise we were about to board? Wilderness got the benefit of Jacada’s assets without any obligation to make its travel clients whole. Avoid them all if you don’t want to see your money spent on someone else.

I booked a safari in Botswana with Wilderness-Safaris.com last September. Vumbura Plains was one of 3 camps and lodges and I have never paid such a high price for such miserable camp and weird experience. Many people mix the safari experience with the camp or lodge experience. Let me explain: I went to many countries for safaris and all were wonderful: Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania .. So, of course, Botswana was good, but like others country, and certainly not better. But Botswana is certainly the most expensive country for safaris and I really do not know why I paid so much money for such a disappointment and I'm still waiting for the answer from wilderness-safaris.com 1 month on the justification of such a price for a camp miserable and poorly maintained. So I arrived at the Vumburas camp and they took me to a room with a small outdoor pool with a disgusting green color. The window blinds were plastic, very old and non-transparent and had not been cleaned in years. It was dusty. and very dirty. So I paid an indecent rate per night to have such an experience in an unserviced and mediocre camp. I feel so stupid for agreeing to pay such a high price for such a disappointing experience, but when you pay so much, you have the feeling that it's the guarantee of an exceptional stay. The next day, they explained to me that my pool was under a tree and that birds were defecating in the pool which explained the dreadful green color. So they knew the problem, did not tell me that I should not get into this polluted water but obviously Wildernes never imagined they could move the pool or protect against this terrible disadvantage. I was transferred the next day to a similar room which has not been renovated for at least 15 years and has not been serviced and cleaned either: dirty plastic blinds and worn furniture and faded. And it was not over, I was lying on my bed in the afternoon, the mosquito net fell on the bed and was held by the fan, who could also get stuck under the weight of the mosquito net and fall on my legs. It's just unimaginable to pay so much for such a miserable camp and it's a shame for Wilderness to offer such an experience at such a high price. So I definitely advise about Botswana: it is more than 2 times more expensive than other countries that organize safaris. During this trip, my best experience was in South Africa: of course wonderful safaris but an amazing lodge with every imaginable comfort (wifi, air con..) and cheaper than Vumburas camp which was really miserable. To offer such basic and unmaintained camps at this price is obviously very profitable for Wilderness-Safaris and I absolutely advise against this unscrupulous company. below some pictures of the room : dirty, opaque blinds, faded furniture and a terrific swimming pool i can proof everything : pictures, invoice, complaints to wilderness-safaris.com...